Kitabı oku: «The Caroselli Inheritance», sayfa 2

“I’m assuming you plan to use artificial insemination,” he said.

She felt a little weird about discussing the particulars, but he was a part of this now. It would be his baby, too. “That or in vitro, which is much more reliable, but crazy expensive. Either way it could take several months.”

“Or we could pay nothing at all,” he said.

She must have looked thoroughly confused, because he laughed and said, “You have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“I guess I don’t.”

“Think about it.” He wiggled his eyebrows and flashed her a suggestive smile.

Wait a minute. He couldn’t possibly mean—

“Why pay a doctor to get you pregnant,” he said,

“when we could just do it the old-fashioned way for free?”

Two

Terri gaped at Nick, her eyes—which were sometimes green and sometimes blue, depending on the light—wide with shock and horror. It took her several seconds to find her voice, and when she did, she said, a full octave higher than her usual range, “That was a joke, right?”

“Actually, I’ve never been more serious.” Nick would be the first to admit it was a pretty radical idea, but on a scale of one to ten, this entire situation had a weird factor of about fifty.

He had given Nonno’s offer a lot of thought and had come to the conclusion that he just wasn’t ready to settle down yet. It wasn’t so much the idea of being a father that put him off—he loved kids—but the marriage end of the deal that gave him the willies. His parents had gone through hell, and put Nick and his two older sisters through it, too. Now with his sister Jessica’s marriage in trouble, as well, the idea of marital bliss was nothing more than a fairy tale to him. And not worth the pain of the inevitable divorce. Not even for ten million dollars.

It had never occurred to him that the actual marriage could be a sham. Not to mention so mutually advantageous. And who in his family would question the plausibility that after twenty years of devoted friendship, his and Terri’s relationship had moved to the next level? The women in his family ate up that kind of romantic garbage.

Terri tucked her long dark hair behind her ears. He’d only seen her do this when she was nervous or uncomfortable, and that wasn’t very often. She was one of the most centered, secure and confident people he’d ever known. Sometimes this led to her being a touch impulsive, but in this instance could only work in his favor.

“The sooner this kid is born, the better,” he told her. “So why would we spend a lot of time and money on procedures that could take months to work?”

Indecision wrinkled the space between her brows and she picked at the frayed cuff of her sweatshirt. “Aren’t you worried that it might make things weird between us?” she asked.

“Maybe a little,” he admitted. “But, haven’t you ever been curious?”

“Curious?”

He gave her arm a gentle nudge. “You’ve never wondered what it might be like if you and I …”

It took an awful lot to embarrass her, but there was a distinct red hue working its way across her cheekbones. That was a yes if he’d ever seen one, even if she didn’t want to admit it. And he couldn’t deny that he’d thought about it himself more than a time or two. She was funny and smart and beautiful, so who could blame him?

“I’ve never told you this,” he said. “But there was a time when I had a pretty serious crush on you.”

She blinked. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“When?”

“Our junior year of high school.”

She looked genuinely stunned. “I—I had no idea.”

That’s because he’d never said a word about it. Up until then, he’d never viewed her in a sexual way. Nor, it seemed, did many other boys. She had been a late bloomer, a typical tomboy, lanky and tall—taller than all the other girls and even a fair share of the boys—and as far from feminine as a girl could be. But she’d spent the entire summer after their sophomore year in Europe with her aunt and something intriguing had happened. She left Chicago a girl, and returned a woman.

Boys in school began paying attention to her, talking about her in the locker room, and he wouldn’t deny that she became the subject of a few of his own teenage fantasies. Not that he would have acted on those feelings. They were, after all, only friends, though that fact did little to erase the jealousy he felt when he saw her with other boys, or would hear the rumors of the things she had done with them. And as much as he liked how she changed, he resented her for it. He wanted the old Terri back. But he got over it, of course. What choice did he have?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“Aside from the fact that I thought it would probably freak you out?” He shrugged. “It was a crush. I had them all the time. And our friendship was too important to me to ruin over raging teenage hormones.”

“But you would be willing to ruin it now?”

“Maybe if we were sleeping together just for the sake of doing it, but this is different. We have a legitimate reason to have sex.”

In his experience, romantic love and friendship occupied opposite sides of the playing field, and he would never let one interfere with the other. Which is why he was so sure that if they approached this situation logically, it would work. And when all was said and done, everyone would get exactly what they wanted.

“It’s a means to an end,” he said. “It wouldn’t mean anything.”

She shot him a look. “That’s just what every girl wants to hear when she’s considering sleeping with a man.”

“You get my point. And yes, it could potentially change our relationship, but not necessarily for the worse. It might even bring us closer together.”

She didn’t look convinced. Maybe she was opposed to the idea for an entirely different reason.

“Do you have moral objections?” he asked. “Or is it just that you find the idea of sleeping with me revolting?”

She rolled her eyes. “You are not revolting. And though it’s embarrassing to admit, I had kind of a crush on you once, too.”

If that was true, she’d done one hell of a job hiding it. “When?”

“It pretty much started the day I transferred into Thomas Academy school in fourth grade.”

He recalled that day clearly, when she’d walked into his class, bitter, sullen and mad as hell. It was obvious to everyone in the elite private school that she was an outsider. And trouble. A fact she drove home that very first day when she had come up behind Nick on the playground and pushed him off his swing, knocking him face-first in the dirt. He wanted to shove her right back, but he’d had it drilled into him by his mother to respect girls, so he’d walked away instead. Which only seemed to fuel her lust for blood.

For days he’d tolerated kicks in the shin, pinches on the arm, prods in the cafeteria line and endless ribbing from his buddies for not retaliating. With his parents in the middle of a nasty divorce, he’d had some anger issues of his own, and the unprovoked attacks started to grate on him. A week or so later she tripped him on his way to the lunch table, making him drop his tray and spill his spaghetti and creamed corn all over the cafeteria floor and himself. The other students laughed, and something inside Nick snapped. Before he realized what he was doing, he hauled off and popped her one right in the mouth.

The entire cafeteria went dead silent, everyone watching to see what would happen next, and he’d felt instantly ashamed for hitting a weak, defenseless girl.

He would never forget the way he’d stood watching her, waiting for the tears to start as blood oozed from the corner of her lip and down her chin. And how she balled her fist, took a swing right back at him, clipping him in the jaw. He was so stunned, he just stood there. But she wasn’t finished. She launched herself at him, knocking him to the floor, and there was nothing girly about it. No biting or scratching or hair-pulling. She fought like a boy, and her fists were lethal weapons. He had no choice but to fight back. To defend himself. Plus, he had his pride, because to a nine-year-old boy, being accepted meant everything.

It had taken three teachers to pry them apart and haul them to the dean’s office, both of them bruised and bloody. They were given a fourteen-day in-school suspension, though that was mild compared to the tirade he’d endured from his father, and the disappointment from his mother, who he knew were miserable enough without any help from him.

He spent the next two weeks holed up in a classroom alone with Terri, and as the black eyes faded and the split lips healed, something weird happened. To this day he wasn’t sure whether it was mutual admiration or two lost souls finding solace in each other, but they walked out of that room friends, and had been ever since.

“So, you beat the snot out of me because you liked me?” he said.

“It wasn’t even a conscious thing. Until I looked back at it years later did I realize why I was so mean to you. But once we became friends, I never thought about you in a romantic way.”

“Never?”

“Why would I?” she said, but a hot-pink blush crept up into her cheeks. She pushed herself off his desk and walked over to the window, looking out into the darkness, at the traffic crawling past on icy roads.

If she hadn’t, why the embarrassment? Why was she running away from him?

He knew he should probably let it go, but he couldn’t. “You never thought about what it might be like if I kissed you?”

With her back to him, she shrugged. “You kiss me all the time.”

“Not a real kiss.” But now that he’d gotten the idea into his head, he couldn’t seem to shake it off. He wanted to kiss her.

He pushed off the desk, walked over to the window and stood behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and she jerked, sucking in a surprised breath. “Nick …”

He turned her so she was facing him. She was so tall they were practically nose to nose. “Come on, aren’t you the least bit curious?”

“It’s just … it would be weird.”

He propped a hand on the windowpane beside her head, so she was blocked in by his arm on one side and the wall on the other. “How will you know until you try?”

He reached up to run his finger down her cheek, and not only was it crimson, but burning hot.

“Nick,” she said, but it came out sounding low and breathy. It was a side of her that he didn’t see often. A softer, vulnerable Terri, and he liked it. And it occurred to him, as he leaned in closer, that what he was feeling right now wasn’t just curiosity. He was turned-on. And it was no longer the childish fantasies of a teenage boy who knew he wanted something, but wasn’t quite sure what it was. This time Nick knew exactly what he wanted.

“One kiss,” he told her, coming closer, so his mouth was just inches from hers. “And if it’s really that awful, we won’t ever do it again.”

Heat rolled off her in waves. Her pulse was racing, and as she tentatively laid a hand near the collar of his jacket, he could feel her trembling. Was she afraid, or as sexually charged by this as he was? Or was it a little of both? With her hand strategically placed on his chest, she could either push him away, or grab his lapel and pull him in.

Which would it be?

He leaned in slowly, drawing out the suspense. When his lips were a fraction of an inch away, so near he could feel the flutter of her breath, as her fingers curled around the lapel of his jacket … a loud noise from the hallway startled them both and they jumped apart.

Damn it!

Nick walked to the door and looked out to see a member of the cleaning crew pushing her cart down the hall toward the conference room.

He turned, hoping they could pick up where they left off, only to find Terri yanking on her coat. “What are you doing?”

“I really need to get home.”

“Terri—”

“This was a mistake, Nick. I think we’re better off using a doctor, like I originally planned.”

“If that’s what you really want,” he said, feeling disappointed, but trying not to let it show.

“I’ll cover the cost.”

As if he would let her do that. “I insist on paying at least half.”

She looked as if she might argue, then seemed to change her mind. She nodded and said, “That sounds fair.”

He grabbed his coat and shrugged into it. “I’ll drive you home.”

She didn’t say a word as they walked to the elevator, and rode it to the underground parking garage, but he could practically hear the wheels in her mind moving. As much as he wanted to know what she was thinking, he knew better than to ask. If she wanted him to know, she would talk when she was ready. If he tried to drag it out of her, she would clam up. He’d seen her do it a million times. As close as they were, there was always a small part of herself that she vigilantly guarded from everyone, and could he blame her? His parents’ relationship may have been a disaster, but at least he had parents. Despite their dysfunctional marriage, they loved him and his sisters. From the time she moved to Chicago, all Terri ever had was an aunt who only tolerated her presence. If she had loved Terri, she had been unable, or unwilling to let it show.

Though he knew it irked her, Nick opened the passenger door for Terri. Normally she would make a fuss about being completely capable of opening her own door thank-you-very-much, but she didn’t say a word this time. Anyone who knew Terri was well aware she always had something to say, or an opinion about pretty much everything. Tonight, she was quiet the entire ride to her condominium complex on the opposite side of town.

Nick pulled up in front of her unit and turned to her, but she was just sitting there, looking out the windshield. “Everything okay?” he asked.

She nodded, but didn’t move.

“Are you sure? You can talk to me.”

“I know. I just …” She shrugged.

Whatever it was, she wasn’t ready to discuss it.

“Well, you know where I am if you need me,” he said, even though as long as he’d known her, Terri never truly needed anyone. She wrote the handbook on self-sufficiency.

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, the way he always did, but she flung open the car door and jumped out before he had the chance. As he watched her dart into the building without looking back, he couldn’t help thinking that in her attempt to keep things between them from changing, they already had.

Three

Though she had hoped getting a good night’s sleep would make things clearer, Terri tossed and turned all night, then woke the next morning feeling just as confused as she had been when Nick had dropped her at home.

She didn’t want their relationship to change. But what she realized last night while he drove her home was that it already had changed, and it was too late to go back. They had opened a door, and there would be no closing it again until they both stepped through. Unfortunately, she had no idea what was waiting on the other side.

After a long and unproductive workday spent wondering what to do next, how they could pull this off without killing their friendship—if they hadn’t already—she realized that she’d made her decision last night in his office. She’d just been too afraid to admit it. Not only to him, but to herself. Which was what led her to his apartment this evening. He hadn’t tried to contact her all day, by phone or even email, meaning that he was smart enough to realize she needed time to work this through on her own. He was always there when she needed him, but he also knew when she needed space. She realized it said an awful lot about their relationship.

He opened the door dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with a chef’s apron tied around his waist and smudged with what looked like chocolate batter. The scent of something sweet and delicious reached out into the hallway to greet her.

“Hey,” he said, looking not at all surprised to see her.

“Can we talk?”

“Of course.” He stepped aside to let her in, and she gazed around the high-rise apartment that would be home for the next nine months or so. It was painted in rich, masculine hues, yet it still managed to feel warm and homey, in large part due to the casual-comfy furnishings and the dozens of framed family photos throughout the space.

Nick may have had an aversion to marriage, but when it came to his family, he couldn’t be more devoted. She was also happy to see that most of the clutter that had been there last week was gone.

“Come on into the kitchen,” he said. “I’m trying a new cake recipe.”

A culinary genius, he spent much of his free time cooking and baking. He’d often said that if it wasn’t for Caroselli Chocolate, he would have opened his own restaurant, but he would never leave the family business.

On her way through the living room, Terri dropped her purse and coat on the sofa, then followed Nick into his state-of-the-art kitchen, half of which she wouldn’t have the first clue how to use. Nor did she have the desire to learn.

“Whatever it is, it smells delicious,” she told Nick as she took a seat on one of the three bar stools at the island.

“Triple chocolate fudge,” he said. “Jess wants me to make something special for Angie’s birthday party next Saturday.”

“She’ll be eleven, right?”

“Twelve.”

“Really? Wow. I remember when she was born, how excited you were to be an uncle. It doesn’t seem like twelve years ago.”

“It goes by fast,” he said, checking the contents of one of the three top-of-the-line wall ovens. Then he untied the apron and draped it over the oven door handle—where it would probably remain until someone else put it in the broom closet where it belonged. He leaned against the edge of the granite countertop, folded his arms and asked, “So, enough of the small talk. What’s up?”

That was Nick, always getting right to the point. “First, I want to apologize for the way I acted last night. You just … surprised me.”

“It’s okay. You were a little overwhelmed. I get it.”

“But I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. In fact, it’s about the only thing I can think about, and I just have one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“If we do this, if we make the baby the old-fashioned way, can you promise me that afterward things will go back to the way they were? That nothing will change?”

“No. I can’t promise that.”

She sighed. Did he have to be so damned honest? Couldn’t he just humor her into thinking she was making the right choice? But that wasn’t Nick. He was a straight shooter, and the only time he sugarcoated was in the kitchen.

“The best I can do is promise you that I’ll always be there for you,” he said. “We’ll always be friends. Whether we use a doctor or do this conventionally, we’re going to have a child together. That alone is bound to change things.”

He was right, of course. She’d been so focused on the idea of how sleeping together would affect their relationship, that she hadn’t truly grasped the enormity of having a child together. She’d wanted a baby so badly, she hadn’t let herself fully consider the consequences. She realized now that everything would change. The question was, would it be a good change?

“I guess I didn’t think this through completely,” she told Nick. “Big surprise, right?”

“And now that you have?”

It scared her half to death. She’d been friends with Nick longer than anyone. Longer than she knew her own father. “I’m still hopelessly confused.”

“Then we aren’t going to do it. You can stick to your original plan and use a donor.”

“And what will you do?” The idea of him entering a fake marriage with someone else, having a baby with her, left a knot in her belly.

“I won’t do anything,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll admit, I was sort of excited about the idea of having a baby, but only because I would be having it with you.”

“But, what about the money?”

“Terri, our friendship means more to me than any sum of money.”

She was too stunned to speak.

Nick laughed. “Why do you look so surprised?”

“It’s just … I think that’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“I didn’t say it to be nice. I said it because it’s the truth.”

And she felt ashamed that she hadn’t trusted him, that she never realized just how much her friendship meant to him. “Let’s do it,” she said. “Let’s have a baby.”

Now he was the one who looked surprised. “Maybe you should take a little more time to consider this.”

“I don’t need more time.”

“Are you sure?”

She couldn’t recall ever feeling more sure about anything in her entire life. She didn’t know why exactly. She just knew. “I want to do this.”

“The wedding, the baby, moving in with me. Everything?”

“Everything.”

“I guess the only question now is, how soon can we get started?” he asked.

“Well, I’m due to ovulate in two weeks, give or take a day or two. I’d rather not wait another month. The sooner I get pregnant, the better.”

“The question is, can we plan a wedding in fourteen days?”

“I guess it depends on the kind of wedding you want.”

“I would be happy to do this in front of a judge with a couple witnesses.”

“That works for me,” she said. Terri hadn’t spent her adolescence dreaming of and planning her wedding. And why drop a lot of money on a marriage that was guaranteed to end in divorce?

“There’s only one problem with that,” he said.

She knew exactly what he was going to say. “Your family would have a fit.” If there was one thing that the Carosellis loved, it was a party. They would never pass up the opportunity to gather together, overeat and drink too much.

“Exactly,” he said.

“So, how big are you thinking?”

“Immediate family only, maybe a few people from work.”

“Two weeks would be the Saturday before Thanksgiving. I can guarantee most places will be booked.”

Nick considered that for a moment, then his face lit up. “Hey, how about Nonno’s house? It would definitely be big enough. We could have the ceremony in the great room, in front of the fireplace.”

“He wouldn’t mind?”

“Are you kidding? He would be thrilled. The whole point of this is to get the three of us married off and making babies as soon as possible.”

It seemed like a logical choice to her, too. “Call him and make sure it’s okay. On such short notice, I’m thinking we should keep it as simple as possible. Drinks and appetizers will be the best way to go.”

“My cousin Joe on my mom’s side can get us a good deal on the liquor. Make a list of what you think we’ll need, then remember that it’s my family and whatever you plan to order, double it. And we should call the caterer we use for business events. The food is great, and their prices are reasonable.”

“Email me the number and I’ll call them.” There was so much to do, and so little time. But she was sure they could pull it off. She knew that as soon as his mom and his sisters heard the news, they would be gunning to help.

“You understand that my family has to believe this marriage is real, that we have to look like two people madly in love?”

“I know.”

“That means we’ll have to appear comfortable kissing and touching each other.”

The thought of kissing and touching Nick, especially in front of his family, made her heart skip a beat.

“Can you do that?” he asked.

Did she have a choice? “I can do it.”

“Are you sure? Last night when I touched you, you jumped a mile.”

“I was just nervous. And confused.”

“And you aren’t now?”

“I’m trying to look at it logically. Like we’re just two people … conducting a science experiment.”

Nick laughed. “That sounds fun. And correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you almost blow up the science lab in middle school?”

Which had taught her the invaluable lesson that when a teacher said chemicals aren’t to be mixed, she actually meant it. That, plus a week of suspension, and a month of summer school to make up the failing grade she’d more than earned in the class, drove the message home.

But what Nick seemed to be forgetting was she’d only done it because he’d dared her.

“I didn’t think it was supposed to be fun,” she said.

He frowned. “You don’t think sex should be fun?”

“Not all sex. I guess I just thought, because we’re friends, we would just sort of … go through the motions.”

“There’s no reason why we can’t enjoy it,” Nick said.

“What if we’re not compatible?”

“As far as I’m aware, we both have the right parts,” he said with a grin. “Unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean biologically compatible. What if we get started and we don’t get, you know … turned-on?”

“Are you saying you find me unattractive?”

“No, but in twenty years, I’ve never looked at you and had the uncontrollable urge to jump your bones. I just don’t think of you that way.”

“Come here,” he said, summoning her around the island with a crooked finger.

“Why?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Now?”

“Why not now? Before we go through the trouble of getting married, shouldn’t we know for sure? Besides, what if we wait until our wedding day, and it all goes horribly wrong? Suppose we bump noses, or we both tilt our head the same way. And what about our honeymoon? Are we just going to hop into bed without ever having touched each other? Doesn’t it make more sense for us to ease into it gradually?”

He definitely had a point. The problem here was that she was trying to play by a set of rules that didn’t exist. They were making it up as they went along. “I guess that does make sense.”

“So, what are you waiting for?” He tapped his lips with his index finger. “Lay one on me.”

The idea that they were really going to do it, that he was going to kiss her for real, and not his usual peck on the cheek, gave her a funny feeling in her head. Her hands went all warm and tingly, as if all the blood in her body was pooling somewhere south of her heart.

It’s just Nick. She had no reason to be nervous or scared or whatever it was she was feeling. But as her feet carried her around the island to where he stood, her heart was racing.

“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

Nick leaned in, but before their lips could meet, a giggle burst up from her chest. Nick drew back, looking exasperated.

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little nervous.” She took a deep breath and blew it out, shaking the feeling back into her fingers. “I’m okay now. I promise not to laugh again.”

“Good, because you’re bruising my fragile ego.”

Somehow she doubted that. She’d never met a man more secure in his prowess with women.

“Okay,” he said. “Are you ready?”

“Ready.”

“Really ready?”

She nodded. “Really ready.”

Nick leaned in, and she met him halfway, and their lips just barely touched.

She couldn’t help it, she giggled again.

Backing away, Nick sighed loudly. “This is not working.”

“I am so sorry,” she said. “I’m really trying.”

Maybe this wasn’t going to work. If she couldn’t feel comfortable kissing him, what would it be like trying to have sex?

“Close your eyes,” he said.

She narrowed them at him instead. “Why?”

“Just close them. And keep them closed.”

Even though she felt stupid, she did as he asked, and for what felt like a full minute he did nothing, and she started to feel impatient. “Any day now.”

“Shush.”

Another thirty seconds or so passed and finally she felt him move closer, felt the whisper of his breath on her cheek, then his lips brushed over hers. This time she didn’t giggle, and she wasn’t so nervous anymore. His lips were soft and his evening stubble felt rough against her chin, but in a sexy way. And though it wasn’t exactly passionate, it wasn’t merely friendly, either.

This is nice, she thought. Nice enough that she wanted to see what came next, and when Nick started to pull away, before he could get too far, she fisted her hands in the front of his shirt and pulled him back in.

He made a sound, somewhere between surprise and pleasure, and he must have forgotten all about their ease-into-it-gradually plan, because it went from nice to holy-cow-can-this-guy-kiss in two seconds flat. He must have been sampling the cake batter earlier, because he tasted sweet, like chocolate.

Oh, my gosh, she was kissing Nick, her best friend. It was Nick’s arms circling her, Nick’s hand cupping her cheek, sliding under the root of her ponytail and cocking her head to just the right angle.

Her internal thermometer shot into the red zone and her bones began a slow melt, dripping away like icicles in the hot sun. And only when she heard Nick moan, when she felt her fingers sink through the softness of his hair, did she realize that her arms were around his shoulders, that her body was pressed against him, her breasts crushed against the hard wall of his chest. It was thrilling and arousing, and scary as hell, and a couple dozen other emotions all jumbled up together. But more than anything, it just felt … right. In a way that no other kiss had before. And all she could think was more.

For the second time Nick was the one to pull away, and she had to fight the urge to tighten her arms around his neck and pull him to her again. But instead of letting go completely, he hooked his fingers in the belt loop of her jeans.

“Wow,” he said, searching her face, almost as if he were seeing her for the first time. “That was …”

“Wow,” she agreed. If she had known kissing Nick would be like that, she might have tried it a long time ago.

“Are you still worried about us being incompatible?” he asked.

“Somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“Do you feel weird?”

“Weird?”

“You said before that you were afraid things might get weird between us.”

The only thing she felt right now was turned-on, and ready to kiss him again. “It’s difficult to say after one kiss.”